BOUND BY ONE NIGHT

Chapter13

Alex's POV

Silence had never unnerved me before, it used to be my favourite thing, my anchor, my control. Now it scraped at my nerves, sharp and irritating, like a presence made of absence, her absence.

Lavender Brooks had been gone for two weeks, and my office felt wrong. Her desk sat empty outside my door, a quiet, irritating reminder that she had walked away… from me… without hesitation, without fight, without looking back. No one ever left me, no one ever dared.

She had, and I hated how it made my chest tighten. I slammed the latest report onto the conference table hard enough to make my team jump.

“This is unusable,” I snapped. “The numbers don’t align. The projections are sloppy. Redo everything.” They exchanged worried glances. I didn’t care.

“Leave,” I said coldly, They fled.

The door shut, leaving the suffocating silence behind. I leaned back, rubbing the bridge of my nose. My schedule had been brutal by choice. Fourteen-hour days. Minimal sleep. Endless calls, the pretence of productivity. But nothing I did made the gnawing sensation in my chest stop.

“I shouldn’t be thinking about you,” I muttered to no one. Except I was, constantly. A sharp knock sounded before my office door swung open.

Cassandra.

Perfect. The last thing I needed, She breezed in aggressively, heels clicking, perfume thick and clawing at my senses. “We need to talk.”

“I’m busy.”

“You’re always busy,” she snapped, shutting the door. “And ignoring me.”

“Yes.”

She blinked. “Yes? That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Her mouth twisted. “This is because of your little assistant, isn’t it?” My head snapped up. “Do not talk about Lavender.”

“So it is about her.”

“Cassandra,” I warned.

Her eyes narrowed. “Did you sleep with her?” Silence.

She laughed, a triumphant, venomous sound. “You did.”

“Leave,” I said. She took a step forward. “Alex....”

“Leave,” I repeated, slower this time, colder. Furious and humiliated, she stormed out. The door slammed.

Silence again, Lavender again. Her soft voice, steady discipline, integrity. Her eyes that never looked at me with calculation, only calm civility. The one woman who didn’t want anything from me… And the one woman whose absence I felt like a wound. I stood abruptly, pacing.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered. I forced myself back into work. But I barely sat down before my CFO barged into the room, pale and sweating.

“Sir.....we have a problem. A serious one.” My stomach tightened. “What problem?”

“It’s the Hightower deal. Their legal team is threatening to pull out. They claim we didn’t meet the compliance deadline.”

“We did,” I snapped.

“Yes, but, apparently an important file never made it to their office.”

“What file?”

“The updated international compliance sheet. The one Lavender always managed because the codes are complicated and, well, she was the only one who understood the formatting system.” My heart dropped. Of course it was that. Lavender had created a custom coding system for multinational compliance tracking, something only she understood fully. She tried teaching others, but no one picked it up at her level.

The CFO swallowed. “Sir, we can’t locate the original file. And if we don’t send it within the next 48 hours, Hightower withdraws. That’s a $700 million deal.”

I stared at him, my pulse spiking. Lavender used to handle it flawlessly, every time, without prompting. Without reminders. She kept the deal together.

My deal, my company. And now everything was falling apart without her.

“Who was responsible for transferring her files after she left?” I asked dangerously.

“Tessa, sir.”

“Tessa,” I repeated, rage sharp. “The intern barely competent enough to alphabetize?”

“S-Sir.....she said Lavender’s system was… intimidating.” I laughed, a bitter, humourless sound, intimidating. Lavender. The soft-spoken woman who apologized when people bumped into her.

“Find the file,” I said. “Now.”

“We’ve been looking for two days”

“Then look harder.” He rushed out, I sat back slowly, the weight of it sinking in.

Lavender’s absence wasn’t just emotional. It was structural, functional, critical. She had been holding my world together without me noticing. And now everything she once stabilized was falling apart. A soft, unwelcome voice whispered inside me:

You took her for granted. I shoved the thought away and stood.

“Where the hell did she keep those backups?” I muttered. I tore through my office. The cabinet she once managed. The drawers she organized. The shared files on the cloud.

Nothing, her entire system was brilliant, yet so specific, so uniquely hers that without her, it was chaos. My hands tightened into fists. Because the truth was becoming painfully obvious: I didn’t need a new assistant.

I didn’t need more staff.

I needed her, a knock. My mother entered, elegant and imposing as always.

“You look terrible,” she said immediately.

“Thanks.”

She settled on the sofa. “Your behaviour lately is unacceptable.”

“Meaning?”

“You missed brunch. You ignored Cassandra’s invitations. You’re neglecting your duties. Investors are whispering. Something is clearly wrong.” I didn’t respond.

Her eyes sharpened. “This is about that girl, isn’t it?” I closed my eyes.

She continued, “I warned you about getting involved with staff”

“Mother,” I hissed.

“and now look. You’re a mess. Your company is suffering. Your reputation is slipping. For what? A girl who couldn’t even stay in her job?” A cold fury burned through me.

“Lavender didn’t quit because she was weak,” I said. “She quit because I....”

I cut myself off. My mother lifted her chin. “Alex, move on from this… distraction. Focus on your engagement. Focus on your future.”

She left. I stood in the quiet, the weight of her words pressing down on me, distraction. As if Lavender was nothing, like she hadn’t held this company together more tightly than any executive.

As if she hadn’t held me together more than I’d ever admit, by evening, chaos worsened. Legal called, Hightower’s team sent a final warning, the file lavender handled so effortlessly? Missing.

The deal? Hours from collapse.

I stared at the computer screen, a hollow ache spreading through my chest. I whispered, “Lavender… where the hell are you?”

She was the solution to a problem I created, the one person who could stop the disaster building around me, the one person I chased away with my coldness. My breath left me slowly.

“I need you,” I said into the empty office, not professionally, not just that, not anymore. I needed her and she was gone. Gone without a trace, and the terrifying thing was.....

Everything was falling apart without her.